The 2017 New York Mets: Nagging injuries wear down the town they thought they could steal

The 2017 New York Mets started filled with high expectations. After reaching the postseason for two consecutive seasons, the team expected to continue the trend with the healthy young arms from the starting rotation that the general manager boasted about for years. With the exception of Jacob deGrom, each of the young Mets starters missed multiple starts, misdiagnosed injuries and later found themselves on the disabled list.

One by one, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo went down with injuries, and Mets fans had to grin and bear witness to pitchers like Adam Wilk, Tyler Pill, Chris Flexen, Rafael Montero and Tommy Milone stepping in to try to fill the void on the mound.

The most notable loss was opening day starter Noah Syndergaard, who made only five starts before going down with a partially torn lat muscle on April 30. Closer Jeurys Familia was suspended for the first 15 games of the season and then activated in late April before being shut down with an arterial clot in his right shoulder in May and missing most the season.

Outfielder Yoenis Céspedes signed a four-year contract worth $110 million after the 2016 season, the largest contract in Mets history. On April 27, Céspedes left the game after pulling his left hamstring and was placed on the 10-day disabled list. Céspedes was shut down for the season on Aug. 26 after his second hamstring injury of the year. Céspedes played in only 81 games, hitting .292 with 17 home runs and 42 RBIs.

The season saw the emergence of All-Star outfielder Michael Conforto, who was hitting over .300 most of the year before injuries and trades left him unprotected in the lineup. Conforto also fell to injury in August when he dislocated his left shoulder swinging the bat.

Veterans Lucas Duda, Jay Bruce, Neil Walker, Curtis Granderson and René Rivera were traded to contenders to restock the farm system. Top prospects Dominic Smith and Amed Rosario got a taste of the big leagues after the trade deadline. Here’s a look back at some of photos from the 2017 campaign.